Gladiators Take Down Stingrays 5-2, Earn Statement Win on the Road

Gladiators Hand Stingrays First Loss of Season with 5-2 Road Victory

The Atlanta Gladiators secured a dominant 5-2 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum, handing the hosts their first loss of the season behind standout performances from Mike McNamee, Ben Strinden, and Austin Roest, as reported by the Atlanta Gladiators official site.

Sunday afternoon’s matchup marked the fourth game of a grueling road trip for Atlanta, bouncing back from a narrow 4-3 overtime loss in Jacksonville the previous night. The contest also served as the first meeting between the two rivals since their postseason series last year. T.J. Semptimphelter manned the net for the Gladiators, while Garin Bjorklund started between the pipes for the Stingrays.

Fast Starts and Defensive Stretches

Atlanta didn’t waste any time establishing offensive momentum. Just 57 seconds into the opening frame, Ben Strinden hit twine with a blistering wrist shot from the high slot, taking feeds from Austin Roest and Mike McNamee to open the scoring.

That early strike triggered an immediate response from South Carolina, who proceeded to pepper the Atlanta zone. The Stingrays heavily outshot the Gladiators 18-7 in the first period alone, but Semptimphelter stood tall under the barrage. His steady play preserved Atlanta’s 1-0 edge heading into the first intermission, with both squads successfully killing off an early minor penalty.

The home side finally broke through during the middle frame, stunning the visitors with two goals in a span of just 39 seconds. Cam Morrison initiated the sequence at the 5:35 mark, converting a sneaky shot from the right circle off setups from Rhett Parsons and Luke Prokop to pull South Carolina ahead 2-1. Kyle Jackson scored on a breakaway initiated by Alex Gaffney and Prokop. The Stingrays controlled the territorial play again in the second period, outshooting Atlanta 7-5.

Third-Period Resurgence Seals the Win

Trailing entering the third, the Gladiators mounted an emphatic comeback. Roest leveled the score at 2-2 just 2:57 into the final frame, snapping home his second goal of the campaign with helpers from Strinden and McNamee.

Atlanta’s offensive pressure continued to mount as the period wore on. With 8:10 remaining in regulation, Roest cleanly won a faceoff back to Strinden, whose initial point shot generated a juicy rebound. McNamee pounced on the loose puck, burying his second tally of the season to reclaim a 3-2 lead for the visitors.

The momentum snowballed less than two minutes later. At the 6:39 mark, Branden Troock raced clear on a breakaway and fired home his first goal of the year to extend the cushion to 4-2. After successfully neutralizing another South Carolina power play—finishing the afternoon a perfect 3-3 on the penalty kill—McNamee added an empty-netter with 1:57 left on the clock. Assisted by Owen Murray and Strinden, the late insurance marker erased any remaining hopes of a Stingrays comeback.

Semptimphelter finished the afternoon stopping 32 of 34 shots to earn his first victory of the season. The win improved Atlanta’s record to 2-4-1 as the team prepares to travel to Orlando for a Tuesday morning matchup against the Orlando Solar Bears.